Map related acoustic filtering by a mobile robot

ABSTRACT

This specification relates to robots and audio processing in robots. One aspect of the subject matter includes: a body and one or more physically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; one or more processors; and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the robot to perform operations. The operations can include: obtaining map data of an environment of the robot; selecting a test location from the map data; navigating to the selected test location; receiving a sound wave propagating through the environment of the robot; computing one or more acoustic transfer functions for the test signal, wherein each acoustic transfer function represents how the test signal was transformed by the environment of the robot during its propogation through the environment of the robot; and storing each of the transfer functions in association with the test location.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of thefiling date of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/614,942, for SpatialAcoustic Filtering by a Mobile Robot, which was filed on Jan. 8, 2018,and which is incorporated here by reference.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates generally to robots, and more particularly toaudio processing for consumer robots.

A robot is a physical machine configured to perform physical actionsautonomously or semi-autonomously. Robots have one or more integratedcontrol subsystems that effectuate the physical movement of one or morerobotic components in response to particular inputs. Robots can alsohave one or more integrated sensors that allow them to detect particularcharacteristics of the robot's environment. Modern day robots aretypically electronically controlled by dedicated electronic circuitry,programmable special-purpose or general-purpose processors, or somecombination of these. Robots can also have integrated networkinghardware that allows the robot to communicate over one or morecommunications networks, e.g., over Bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi.

A number of devices rely on microphones to detect the presence of anearby sound, and have a need to localize the source of that sound sothat they can focus on and process that particular sound versus otherambient noise, e.g. because that sound is a voice command coming from auser seeking to interact with the device. In many cases, these deviceshave no indication of the direction from which to expect an audio input,and that audio input can come from any location or multiple locations inthe environment. Thus, these devices often initially listen in alldirections, for example, by making use of an array of omnidirectionalmicrophones. Doing so, allows a device to determine the correctdirection of a sound source so the device can, for example, best isolateit. One method of determining a direction of an emitter is to comparethe arrival times of a signal across a microphone array. If a microphoneA detects a sound wave before a microphone B, it can be extrapolatedthat the emitter of the sound wave is physically closer to microphone Athan it is to microphone B.

After determining a likely direction of the emitter, some devicesproceed to focus their microphones in the determined direction of theemitter to reduce the effects of ambient noise on the sound signal.Spatial filtering refers generally to signal processing techniques forthis task, and can be performed on a system that includes a processorand a microphone array. Each microphone in the array receives a versionof the emitted signal that is different from that received by itsneighbors, due to each microphone's unique position relative to theemitter. A device can then generate a spatial filter by applyingweighted and time-shifted summations of the different versions of thesignal generated by the microphones. This allows the device tostrengthen signals received in the direction of the emitter, e.g., byusing constructive interference. Similarly, the system can also reducethe effects of noise, e.g., by using destructive interference.

SUMMARY

This specification relates to robots and audio processing in robots. Ingeneral, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a robot that includes: a body and oneor more physically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; oneor more processors; and one or more storage devices storing instructionsthat are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to causethe robot to perform operations. The operations can include: obtainingmap data of an environment of the robot; selecting a test location fromthe map data; navigating to the selected test location; receiving a testsignal of a sound wave propagating through the environment of the robot;computing one or more acoustic transfer functions for the test signal,wherein each acoustic transfer function represents how the test signalwas transformed by the environment of the robot while the sound wavepropagated through the environment of the robot; and storing each of thetransfer functions in association with the test location.

The operations can further include: receiving, by the robot, an originalaudio signal at a particular location in the environment of the robot;obtaining one of the previously computed acoustic transfer functionsassociated with the particular location; and computing a recovered audiosignal by applying the previously computed acoustic transfer functionfor the particular location to the received original audio signal.

Obtaining one of the previously computed acoustic transfer functionsassociated with the particular location can include determining aprevious test location that is closest in the environment of the robotto the test location.

The operations can further include: repeatedly and automaticallyselecting new test locations in the environment of the robot; computingone or more additional acoustic transfer functions for each new testlocation; and storing each additional acoustic transfer function inassociation with each respective new test location.

Selecting a new test location can include: computing, for each of aplurality of areas in the environment of the robot, a respective measureof density of previously tested locations; and selecting a particularlocation in an area of the environment having a density that satisfies athreshold.

The test signal can be emitted by the robot. Alternatively, or inaddition, the test signal can be emitted by a different second robot ora stationary sound emitter.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a robot that includes: a body and oneor more physically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; oneor more processors; and one or more storage devices storing instructionsthat are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to causethe robot to perform operations. The operations can include: determininga current location of the robot in an environment of the robot;determining that the current location is associated with one or morelocation-specific audio processing techniques; obtaining, by theplurality of microphones, respective audio signals of sound wavespropagating in the environment of the robot; and processing the audiosignals according to the one or more location-specific audio processingtechniques.

The one or more location-specific audio processing techniques caninclude a location-specific acoustic filter.

Determining that the current location of the robot is associated withone or more location-specific audio processing techniques can includedetermining that the current location of the robot is within a thresholddistance of a wall in the environment of the robot, and thelocation-specific acoustic filter can amplify audio signals of soundwaves reflecting off the wall.

Determining that the current location of the robot is associated withone or more location-specific audio processing techniques can includedetermining that the current location of the robot is in a hallway ofthe environment of the robot, and the location-specific acoustic filtercan amplify audio signals of sound waves traveling along the hallway.

The one or more location-specific audio processing techniques caninclude a location-specific acoustic transfer function.

Determining that the current location of the robot is associated withone or more location-specific audio processing techniques can includedetermining that the current location of the robot is in a dynamic areahaving obstacles that are likely to change orientation, and thelocation-specific acoustic transfer function can be an object-specifictransfer function that represents how sound waves are transformed by aparticular object.

The object-specific transfer function can represent how sound waves aretransformed by a closed door or an open door. The object-specifictransfer function can represent how sound waves are transformed byfurniture in the environment of the robot.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a robot that includes: a body and oneor more physically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; oneor more processors; and one or more storage devices storing instructionsthat are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to causethe robot to perform operations. The operations can include: receiving,by the robot, one or more audio signals at a particular location in anenvironment of the robot; selecting, based on the particular location ofthe robot, a plurality of precomputed acoustic transfer functions from adatabase of acoustic transfer functions that associates each acoustictransfer function with a respective location in the environment of therobot; computing a single composite acoustic transfer function from theplurality of selected acoustic transfer functions; and processing thereceived one or more audio signals using the composite acoustic transferfunction.

Selecting the plurality of precomputed acoustic transfer functions caninclude determining which acoustic transfer functions are associatedwith locations in the environment that are closest to the location ofthe robot.

Computing a single composite acoustic transfer function from theplurality of selected acoustic transfer functions can include assigninga respective weight to each acoustic transfer function based on arespective distance between a location associated with the acoustictransfer function and the particular location of the robot.

The acoustic transfer functions in the database of acoustic transferfunctions are precomputed by the robot moving to multiple locationswithin the environment of the robot.

The operations can further include: generating the database of acoustictransfer functions, including repeatedly performing operationscomprising: selecting a test location from map data of the environmentof the robot, navigating to the selected test location, receiving a testsignal of a sound wave propagating through the environment of the robot,computing one or more acoustic transfer functions for the test signal,wherein each acoustic transfer function represents how the test signalwas transformed by the environment of the robot while the sound wavepropagated through the environment of the robot, and storing each of thetransfer functions in association with the test location in thedatabase.

The test signal can be emitted by the robot. The test signal can beemitted by a different second robot or a stationary sound emitter.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a robot that includes: one or morecomputers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that areoperable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the oneor more computers to perform operations. The operations can include: (a)receiving data representing a plurality of transfer functions that eachrepresents how a sound wave was transformed by the environment of arobot while the sound wave propagated from a respective sound origin inthe environment of the robot to a respective sound destination in theenvironment of the robot; (b) selecting a plurality of sound originsassociated with one of the plurality of transfer functions; (c)computing a plurality of candidate locations in the environment of therobot; (d) evaluating each candidate location of the plurality ofcandidate locations, including: (i) computing a respective origin scorefor each selected sound origin of the plurality of selected soundorigins, each respective score representing a decrease in sound qualityof a sound wave propagating from the selected sound origin to thecandidate location according to a particular transfer function havingthe candidate location as a sound destination; and (ii) computing anaggregate score for the candidate location based on the origin scorescomputed between the selected sound origins and the candidate location;(e) determining a candidate location of the plurality of candidatelocations having a best aggregate score; and (f) providing, to therobot, data that causes the robot to navigate within the environment ofthe robot to the candidate location having the best aggregate score.

Each origin score can represent a measure of volume change or a measureof distortion according to a particular transfer function.

Providing data that causes the robot to navigate within the environmentof the robot to the candidate location having the best aggregate scorecan include providing data identifying the candidate location.

Providing the data causes the robot to navigate to the candidatelocation upon receiving a downtime trigger.

The plurality of transfer functions can be computed automatically by therobot navigating within the environment of the robot.

The one or more computers and one or more storage devices can beinstalled on the robot, and the robot can include a body and one or morephysically moveable components.

Selecting a plurality of sound origins associated with one of theplurality of transfer functions can include selecting peripherallocations within the environment of the robot.

Selecting a plurality of sound origins associated with one of theplurality of transfer functions can include selecting locationsassociated with entryways, doors, or windows.

The operations and further include determining at least one of a poseand orientation in order to improve its ability to process audio ofinterest.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented inparticular embodiments so as to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. Robots can use acoustic transfer functions (hereafter,“transfer functions”) to improve the signal quality of received audiosignals. A transfer function represents how an audio signal istransformed between two locations in a particular environment, e.g., dueto the acoustic properties of its medium. A device receiving an audiosignal can apply an inverse transfer function to recover the originalaudio signal, e.g., removing distortion and noise.

Computing spatial filters is most practical for devices that do not move(such as smart speakers) or that move slowly. But for mobile robots thatare capable of rapid movements, even spatial filters computed in realtime are often ineffective. In other words, by the time a robot hasperformed the computations to generate a spatial filter, the location ofthe emitter relative to the robot can have already changed dramaticallybased on the movement of the robot itself (even assuming the emitter isstationary). Mobile robots, and the associated methods, described inthis specification effectively recover original audio signals from audioemitters.

The robot can also maintain a map of an environment of the robot. Notonly can the robot determine its location on the map, it can also usethe map to store spatial filters and acoustic transfer functions. Therobot can access the stored acoustic information that corresponds to therobot's current location, so that the robot can save computingresources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example robot.

FIG. 2 illustrates components and subsystems of an example robot.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating components, subsystems, andcommunication signals of an example robot.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process for calculating a spatialfilter.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an example process for calculating and storingone or more spatial filters and one or more acoustic transfer functions.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of an example process for using transferfunctions to enhance audio signals.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process for using a map to enhanceaudio processing.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process for calculating a compositetransfer function at a chosen location based one or more pre-calculatedtransfer functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example robot 100. The robot 100 is an example ofa mobile autonomous robotic system on which the spatial filteringtechniques described in this specification can be implemented. The robot100 can use the techniques described below for use as a toy, or as apersonal companion, and/or as an assistant or security monitor. Therobot 100 generally includes a body 105 and a number of physicallymoveable components. The components of the robot 100 can house dataprocessing hardware and control hardware of the robot. The physicallymoveable components of the robot 100 include a locomotion system 110, alift 120, and a head 130.

The robot 100 also includes integrated output and input subsystems. Theoutput subsystems can include control subsystems that cause physicalmovements of robotic components; presentation subsystems that presentvisual or audio information, e.g., screen displays, lights, andspeakers; and communication subsystems that communicate informationacross one or more communications networks, to name just a few examples.

The control subsystems of the robot 100 include a locomotion subsystem110. In this example, the locomotion system 110 has wheels and treads.The robot 100 can independently operate each wheel subsystem, whichallows the robot to spin and perform smooth arcing maneuvers. In someimplementations, the locomotion subsystem 110 includes sensors thatprovide feedback representing how quickly one or more of the wheels areturning. The robot can use this information to control its position andspeed.

The control subsystems of the robot 100 include an effector subsystem120 that is operable to manipulate objects in the robot's environment.In this example, the effector subsystem 120 includes a lift and one ormore motors for controlling the lift. The robot 100 can use the effectorsubsystem 120 to lift and manipulate objects in the robot's environment.The effector subsystem 120 can also be used as an input subsystem, whichis described in more detail below.

The control subsystems of the robot 100 also include a robot head 130,which has the ability to tilt up and down and optionally side to side.On the robot 100, the tilt of the head 130 also directly affects theangle of a camera 150.

The presentation subsystems of the robot 100 include one or moreelectronic displays, e.g., electronic display 140, which can each be acolor or a monochrome display. The robot 100 can also use the electronicdisplay 140 to display any appropriate information. In FIG. 1, theelectronic display 140 is presenting a simulated pair of eyes. Thepresentation subsystems of the robot 100 also include one or more lights142 that can each turn on and off, optionally in multiple differentcolors.

The presentation subsystems of the robot 100 can also include one ormore speakers, which can play one or more sounds in sequence orconcurrently so that the sounds are at least partially overlapping.

The input subsystems of the robot 100 include one or more perceptionsubsystems, one or more audio subsystems, one or more touch detectionsubsystems, one or more motion detection subsystems, one or moreeffector input subsystems, and one or more accessory input subsystems,to name just a few examples.

The perception subsystems of the robot 100 are configured to sense lightfrom an environment of the robot. The perception subsystems can includea visible spectrum camera, an infrared camera, or a distance sensor, toname just a few examples. For example, the robot 100 includes anintegrated camera 150. The perception subsystems of the robot 100 caninclude one or more distance sensors. Each distance sensor generates anestimated distance to the nearest object in front of the sensor.

The perception subsystems of the robot 100 can include one or more lightsensors. The light sensors are simpler electronically than cameras andgenerate a signal after detecting a sufficient amount of light. In someimplementations, light sensors can be combined with light sources toimplement integrated cliff detectors on the bottom of the robot. Whenlight generated by a light source is no longer reflected back into thelight sensor, the robot 100 can interpret this state as being over theedge of a table or another surface.

The audio subsystems of the robot 100 are configured to receive audioinput from the environment of the robot. For example, the robot 100 caninclude a directional microphone subsystem having one or moremicrophones. The directional microphone subsystem also includespost-processing functionality that generates a direction, a directionprobability distribution, location, or location probability distributionin a particular coordinate system in response to receiving a sound. Eachgenerated direction represents a potential direction from which thesound originated. The directional microphone subsystem can use variousconventional beamforming algorithms to generate the directions. Exampleaudio subsystems and techniques are described in more detail below withreference to FIGS. 2-5.

The touch detection subsystems of the robot 100 are configured todetermine when the robot is being touched or touched in particular ways.The touch detection subsystems can include touch sensors, and each touchsensor can indicate when the robot is being touched by a user, e.g., bymeasuring changes in capacitance. The robot can include touch sensors ondedicated portions of the robot's body, e.g., on the top, on the bottom,or both. Multiple touch sensors can also be configured to detectdifferent touch gestures or modes, e.g., a stroke, tap, rotation, orgrasp.

The motion detection subsystems of the robot 100 are configured tomeasure movement of the robot. The motion detection subsystems caninclude motion sensors and each motion sensor can indicate that therobot is moving in a particular way. For example, a gyroscope sensor canindicate an orientation of the robot relative to the Earth'sgravitational field. As another example, an accelerometer can indicate adirection and a magnitude of an acceleration.

The effector input subsystems of the robot 100 are configured todetermine when a user is physically manipulating components of the robot100. For example, a user can physically manipulate the lift of theeffector subsystem 120, which can result in an effector input subsystemgenerating an input signal for the robot 100. As another example, theeffector subsystem 120 can detect whether or not the lift is currentlysupporting the weight of any objects. The result of such a determinationcan also result in an input signal for the robot 100.

The robot 100 can also use inputs received from one or more integratedinput subsystems. The integrated input subsystems can indicate discreteuser actions with the robot 100. For example, the integrated inputsubsystems can indicate when the robot is being charged, when the robothas been docked in a docking station, and when a user has pushed buttonson the robot, to name just a few examples.

The robot 100 can also use inputs received from one or more accessoryinput subsystems that are configured to communicate with the robot 100.For example, the robot 100 can interact with one or more toy cubesconfigured with electronics that allow the cubes to communicate with therobot 100 wirelessly. Such accessories configured to communicate withthe robot can have embedded sensors that communicate outputs to therobot 100 either directly or over a network connection. For example, acube can have one or more integrated microphones and can communicatesignals generated by the microphones to the robot. Another exampleaccessory input subsystem is a mobile computing device, e.g., a mobilephone or a table computer. These devices can transmit signals generatedby integrated microphones to the robot.

The accessory input subsystems can also include one or more microphones.The one or more microphones can receive audio input from the environmentof the robot 100 and communicate the audio input to the robot eitherdirectly or over a network connection. For example, a microphone cancommunicate audio input to the robot 100 to indicate the presence of auser.

The robot 100 can also use inputs from one or more environmental sensorsthat each indicate a particular property of the environment of therobot. Environmental sensors include temperature sensors and humiditysensors to name just a couple examples.

One or more of the input subsystems described above may also be referredto as “sensor subsystems.” The sensor subsystems allow a robot todetermine when a user is paying attention to the robot, e.g., for thepurposes of providing user input, using a representation of theenvironment rather than through explicit electronic commands, e.g.,commands generated and sent to the robot by a smartphone application.The representations generated by the sensor subsystems may be referredto as “sensor inputs.”

The robot can also receive information from one or more additionalrobots that are in proximity to the robot. For example, the informationcan be related to the location of each of the one or more additionalrobots. Each robot can communicate its location to the other robots inthe environment, for example, by periodically sending its location tothe other robots. In one implementation, each robot can send itslocation once every millisecond. In other implementations, each robotcan send its location more or less than once every millisecond. Eachrobot can also send its location only after completing a change in itslocation. For example, after moving from a first location to a secondlocation, a robot can communicate the second location to one or morerobots that are in proximity to it. As previously mentioned, the robotcan store its location and signal processing information on a map. Aplurality of robots that are in proximity to each other can also sendtheir maps to each other. The plurality of robots can also share acommon map that each robot can access and update via a network.

The robot can record the locations of the one or more additional robotson its local map, so that the robot knows the location of eachadditional robot at any given time. The robot can also determine thelocations of the one or more additional robots from the common map. Therobot can also receive information related to sound emitters present inthe environment of the robot from the one or more additional robots. Forexample, the robot can determine the direction of a sound emitter usingaudio information received by the one or more additional robots and thelocations of the one or more additional robots. As previously discussed,the robot can estimate a direction of a sound emitter using input fromone or more sensors. The robot can also update the estimated directionbased on information received by the one or more additional robots. Theinformation can include sensory input and one or more estimateddirections of the emitter received from the one or more additionalrobots.

In addition to accessing information from the one or more additionalrobots, the robot can also use that information to calculate signalprocessing information such as a spatial filter and a transfer function.For example, the robot can receive signal processing information fromthe one or more additional robots, and use this signal processinginformation to calculate a spatial filter or a transfer function, asdescribed in more detail below with regard to FIG. 5A.

The robot 100 also includes computing subsystems having data processinghardware, computer-readable media, and networking hardware. Each ofthese components can serve to provide the functionality of a portion orall of the input and output subsystems described above or as additionalinput and output subsystems of the robot 100, as the situation orapplication requires. For example, one or more integrated dataprocessing apparatus can execute computer program instructions stored oncomputer-readable media in order to provide some of the functionalitydescribed above.

The robot 100 can also be configured to communicate with other devices.For example, the robot 100 can communicate wirelessly with nearby mobilecomputing devices as well as cloud-based computing systems having one ormore computers in one or more locations. A nearby mobile device cancommunicate with the robot 100 to provide commands and display feedbackto a user, e.g., through use of an installed mobile application. Acloud-based computing system can provide online support services for therobot. For example, the robot can offload portions of some of theoperations described in this specification to the cloud-based system,e.g., for determining behaviors, computing signals, and performingspeech recognition and natural language processing of the content ofaudio streams.

FIG. 2 illustrates components and subsystems of an example robot. Inparticular, FIG. 2 illustrates electronics 210, a microphone array 220,a robot body 230, a vision subsystem 240, and a microphone arrayactuator 250.

The robot body 230 provides structural support for the rest of thecomponents and subsystems shown in FIG. 2, i.e., the electronics 210,the microphone array 220, the vision subsystem 240, and the microphonearray actuator 250.

Electronics 210 are electrical components whose functionality isdiscussed in more detail with regard to FIG. 3. When the followingcomponents are present, generally electronics 210, the microphone array220, the vision subsystem 240, and the microphone array actuator 250 arehoused inside the robot body 230. In some implementations, the robotbody 230 can be designed to allow some or all of these components to beplaced on its exterior. When the robot body 230 is connected to alocomotion system, the robot body 230 can move in any appropriatedirection. In some implementations, a robot has up to six degrees offreedom: movement in the X, Y, and Z directions, and rotation about theX, Y, and Z axes. Ground-based robots that rely on wheels or treads cangenerally move in only the X and Y directions of a particularenvironment, while flying robots or drones and climbing robots orheight-adjusting robots can also move in the Z direction.

The microphone array 220 includes a plurality of microphones configuredto receive audio input from an environment of a robot. For eachmicrophone of the microphone array 220, the robot can maintain a weightthat represents the amount the microphone amplifies a received audioinput. The robot can alter the weight of any particular microphone ofthe microphone array 220 independently of the other microphones in thearray. A microphone of the microphone array 220 is activated when it isable to receive audio input in the form of sound waves, convert theaudio input into an audio signal, and transmit the audio signal toanother component or subsystem of the robot. A microphone of themicrophone array 220 is deactivated when one or more of these functionsis not available. The plurality of microphones can be directional oromnidirectional microphones. The plurality of microphones can also be acombination of directional and omnidirectional microphones. The robot100 can activate and deactivate each microphone as described below withreference to FIG. 3.

The vision subsystem 240 includes sensors configured to receive visualinput from an environment of a robot. In this example, the robot can usethe vision subsystem 240 together with the microphone array 220 topredict a direction of a sound emitter in an environment of the robot.In some implementations, the vision subsystem 240 is omitted from therobot. The sensors of the vision subsystem 240 can be light sensors thatdetect the intensity of light in an environment of the robot. The visionsubsystem 240 can also include more electronically complex sensorsincluding a visible spectrum camera, an infrared camera, and a proximitysensor. The vision subsystem 240 is activated when it is able to receivevisual input in the form of electromagnetic radiation, convert thevisual input into a visual signal, and transmit the visual signal toanother component or subsystem of the robot. The vision subsystem 240 isdeactivated when one or more of these functions is not available. Therobot 100 can activate and deactivate the vision subsystem 240 asdescribed below with reference to FIG. 3.

The microphone array actuator 250 is a moveable component that can beused to connect the microphone array 220 to the robot body 230. In thisexample the microphone array actuator 250 can be used to move themicrophone array 220. For example, the microphone array actuator 250 canbe used to move the microphone array 220 in order to better receiveaudio input from an environment of the robot. In some implementations,the microphone array actuator 250 is omitted and the microphone array220 is attached directly to the robot body 230.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating components, subsystems, andcommunication signals of an example robot. In particular, FIG. 3illustrates in more detail the functional components of an exampleimplementation of an example robot. The robot includes electronics 310,a microphone array 320, a vision subsystem 340, a microphone arrayactuator 350, and a database 370. The electronics 310 can be programmedto implement an audio engine 302, a visual engine 304, and a movementcontrol subsystem 306. FIG. 3 also illustrates a number of signalsincluding an audio information signal 312, a visual information signal314, a microphone array control signal 315, audio signals 325, a visualsignal 330, a vision subsystem control signal 335, a microphone arrayactuator control signal 355, and a position information signal 360.

The audio engine 302 is configured to receive and process audio signals,activate or deactivate the microphones of the microphone array 220, andrelay audio information to the movement subsystem 306. The audio engine302 is also responsible for executing signal processing techniques,e.g., calculating a spatial filter. The audio engine 302 can calculate aspatial filter in order to better receive audio input from an emitter inan environment of the robot 100. One way of constructing a spatialfilter is by calculating the weight of each microphone of the microphonearray 320. For example, the audio engine 302 can receive audio signals325 from the microphone array 320, each corresponding to an audio inputreceived by a microphone of the microphone array 320. The audio engine302 can then process the audio signals 325 to estimate a direction of asound emitter, or for brevity, an emitter, that produced the receivedaudio input. After estimating the direction of the emitter, the audioengine 302 can calculate an optimal weight to assign each microphone ofthe microphone array 320. Following this calculation, the audio engine302 can apply the combination of weights to the audio signals 325 toenhance the audio input received from the emitter.

Audio information can be used to determine a predicted optimal positionof the microphone array 320. For example, the audio engine 302 canprocess the audio signals 325 to estimate information about an emitterpresent in an environment of the robot. For example, estimatedinformation about the emitter can include, the direction of the emitter,the distance from the emitter to the robot, and the height of theemitter relative to the robot. The audio engine 302 can then communicatethe estimated information about the emitter to the movement subsystem306 via the audio information signal 312. The movement subsystem 306 canestimate an optimal position of microphone array 320 from the estimatedinformation about an emitter. If the movement subsystem 306 estimatesthat changing the position of the microphone array 320 would improve thereception of audio input from the emitter, then the movement subsystem306 can communicate a change of position to the microphone arrayactuator 350 using the microphone array actuator control signal 355. Themicrophone array actuator 350 is a moveable component that controls theposition of the microphone array 320. As previously noted, in someimplementations, a microphone array actuator 350 is not present, and themicrophone array 320 is unmovable and attached to the robot body 230.

The visual engine 304 is configured to receive and process visualsignals, activate and deactivate the vision subsystem 340, and relayvisual information to the movement subsystem 306. As previouslymentioned, in some implementations, the vision subsystem 340 is omittedfrom the robot. In these implementations, the visual engine 304 can alsobe omitted from the robot. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which thevision subsystem 340 is included in the subsystems of the robot. Thevisual engine 304 controls the vision subsystem 340 using the visualcontrol signals 335. For example, the visual engine 304 can determinewhether the vision subsystem 340 is activated by using the visionsubsystem control signal 335. When the vision subsystem 340 isactivated, the vision subsystem 340 can transmit the visual signal 330to the visual engine 304. The visual engine 304 can process the visualsignal 330 in order to extract visual information about an environmentof the robot, e.g., the amount of light, the presence of objects, andthe topography of the environment, to name just a few examples.

The visual engine 304 can also process visual input to estimateinformation about an emitter present in the environment of robot. Forexample, estimated information about the emitter can include, thedirection of the emitter, the distance from the emitter to the robot,and the height of the emitter relative to the robot. The visual engine304 can communicate this information to the audio engine 302 using thevisual information signal 314. Audio engine 302 can use the informationtogether with, or instead of, the audio input received by the microphonearray 320 to estimate a direction of an emitter. After estimating adirection of an emitter, the audio engine 302 can calculate a predictedoptimal weight to assign each microphone of the microphone array 320.Following this calculation, the audio engine 302 can apply thecombination of weights to the audio signals 325 to enhance the audioinput received from the emitter.

Not only can the movement subsystem 306 use audio input processed by theaudio engine 302 to estimate an optimal position of the microphone array320, the movement subsystem 306 can similarly use visual input. Thevisual engine 304 can process the visual signal 330 to estimateinformation about an emitter present in an environment of the robot. Forexample, estimated information about the emitter can include, thedirection of the emitter, the distance from the emitter to the robot,and the height of the emitter relative to the robot. The visual engine304 can then communicate the estimated information about the emitter tothe movement subsystem 306 using the visual information signal 314. Themovement subsystem 306 can process the estimated information to estimatean optimal position of the microphone array 320. In response toestimating an optimal position of the microphone array 320, the movementsubsystem 306 can change the position of the microphone array 320 byrelaying the estimated optimal position to the microphone array actuator350 using the microphone array actuator control signal 355. The movementsubsystem 306 can also estimate a predicted optimal position of themicrophone array 320 by using both the audio input and the visual inputtogether.

In addition to using audio input and visual input to estimate adirection of an emitter, the robot can use an auxiliary sensor toperform the same task. The robot can receive a wireless communicationfrom the auxiliary sensor indicating the presence of a sound emitter.The robot can then determine the direction of the auxiliary sensor, forexample, from information received from the auxiliary sensor indicatingits position. From the direction of the auxiliary sensor, the robot canestimate a direction of the emitter, and, using this estimate, calculatea spatial filter as described above. As an example, the auxiliary sensorcould be a home security sensor configured to detect the opening of adoor, glass breaking, or motion, and relay this detection to the robot.

The movement subsystem 306 is also configured to record informationcorresponding to the movement of the robot. The movement subsystem 306can then process this information and relay it to the audio engine 302,which can use the information to alter the weights of each microphone ofthe microphone array 320. For example, the audio engine 302 cancalculate a spatial filter in the direction of an emitter present in anenvironment of the robot by calculating the weights of each microphoneof the microphone array 320. After calculating the spatial filter, therobot can then change position. Because of the change in position, thespatial filter may no longer be aligned with the emitter, resulting inless-than-optimal reception of audio input. The movement subsystem 306can record information corresponding to the previous change in positionand can relay this information to the audio engine 302 using theposition information signal 360. The audio engine 302 can use thedifference between the final and initial positions to recalculate thespatial filter before receiving audio input while in the final position.This way, the robot can realign the spatial filter with the direction ofthe emitter after a change in position.

Prior to a change in position, the robot can also communicateinformation relating to the change in position to the movement subsystem306. From this information, the movement subsystem 306 can estimate afinal position of the robot. The movement subsystem 306 can then controlthe actuation of microphone array 320 before or during the change ofposition of the robot. In this way, the microphone array 320 can alreadybe in a predicted optimal position for receiving audio input when robotarrives at the final position.

The movement subsystem 306 can also store a map 365. The map 365 is amap of an environment of the robot 100 that includes areas accessibleto, and inaccessible to the robot. The map 365 could be atwo-dimensional map or a three-dimensional map. The map 365 can beuploaded to movement subsystem 306, for example, by a user. The robot100 can also generate the map as described in greater detail below withreference to FIG. 5A.

The robot 100 is also able to localize itself, i.e., determine itslocation on the map. The audio engine 302 can use the map 365, inaddition to the audio signals received from the microphone array 320, toassist in the prediction of a direction of a sound emitter. The robot100 can eliminate a possible direction of the source of the sound (thesound emitter) from consideration by determining that the probability ofthere being a sound emitter in that direction is lower than a certainthreshold value. For example, if the robot 100 is close to an object,such as a wall, and it receives a sound wave coming from the directionof the wall, e.g. a reflection of the sound wave off the wall, it candetermine that the sound emitter cannot be physically located in thedirection of the wall, and must instead be a reflection of the soundwave off the wall.

After detecting the presence of an object, the robot 100 can also moverelative to the object. For example, the robot 100 can detect thepresence of a chair. In response, the robot 100 can move relative to thechair to improve the reception of input from its sensor subsystems, e.g.the microphone array 220 or the vision subsystem 240.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process for calculating a spatialfilter. The example process will be described as being performed by arobot having a plurality of microphones and one or more other sensorsubsystems and programmed appropriately in accordance with thisspecification. For example, when appropriately programmed, the robot 100can perform the example process.

The robot receives one or more sensor inputs from one or morenon-microphone sensor subsystems (410). In other words, instead of or inaddition to receiving sensor inputs from the microphones, the robot canobtain sensor inputs using any appropriate combination of the othersensor subsystems described above. For example, the vision subsystem cangenerate a color image of the environment, while a microphone array canobtain audio input in order to detect the presence of a sound emitter inthe environment.

The robot determines a predicted direction of a detected sound emitterbased on the one or more sensor inputs of the one or more non-microphonesensor subsystems (420). An audio engine can process the audio signalsreceived from the microphone array in order to predict a direction of anemitter. For example, the robot can determine the direction of a soundemitter by comparing the audio input received by each microphone of amicrophone array. Similarly, a visual engine can process the visualsignals received from a vision subsystem in order to predict a directionof an emitter. For example, the robot can determine the direction of asound emitter by detecting the face of a human using the visionsubsystem. In some implementations, the robot can also account forvelocity and orientation changes to generate the prediction. Forexample, if the robot is turning or driving at a particular speed, therobot can predict its next location and update the predicted directionof the detected sound emitter based on the predicted next location.

If the robot changes orientation from an initial orientation to a finalorientation, the predicted direction of the detected sound emitter mayno longer be accurate, relative to the final orientation. After therobot has determined the predicted direction, the robot can update thepredicted direction following a change in orientation of the robot. Forexample, if the robot changes its orientation by rotating, the robot canupdate the predicted direction so that the updated predicted directionaccounts for the change in orientation.

In some implementations, the robot can use the the predicted directionto change the position of the plurality of microphones. Using amicrophone array actuator, the robot can change the position of theplurality of microphones to better receive audio input from thepredicted direction.

The robot generates a spatial filter based on the predicted direction(430). To achieve this, the audio engine can calculate a weight for eachmicrophone of the microphone array. The weights are calculated in orderto enhance the reception of audio input from the predicted direction.The calculated weights also serve to diminish the reception of audioinput not in line with the predicted direction. The combination ofweights calculated to selectively enhance audio from a particulardirection constitutes the calculated spatial filter. The calculatedspatial filter and the robot's location can also be added to a databaseof signal processing information.

If the robot moves from an initial location to a final location, thecalculated spatial filter used to process audio received at the initialposition may not be optimal for processing audio received at the finalposition. In some embodiments, the robot can determine a distance to thesound emitter from the robot and use the distance in part, to update thegenerated spatial filter following a change in location of the robot.After determining the distance to the sound emitter, the robot can usethis information, along with the predicted direction, to update thegenerated spatial filter following a change in location or a change inlocation and orientation of the robot.

The robot can determine its distance to the sound emitter in a number ofways. For example, the robot can use a distance sensor to determine thedistance to the sound emitter.

As another example, the robot can determine the distance to the soundemitter using a camera. In one example embodiment, a camera can detect aperson's face and determine that the person is a sound emitter. Afterdetecting the person's face, a visual engine of the robot can processthe image of the person's face to determine the robot's distance to theperson.

As yet another example, a pair of robots can determine a location of thesound emitter, relative to each robot, using triangulation. Either orboth of the robots can perform the calculations necessary to determinethe location of the sound emitter through triangulation, so long as thetwo robots are communicatively coupled. A first robot and a second robotcan each determine a respective orientation relative to the soundemitter. Each robot can also determine its location with respect to theother robot. The first robot can then receive the location andorientation from the second robot. Using the two locations and twoorientations, the first robot can triangulate the location of the soundemitter. In some implementations, the robot can also update the mapcorresponding to its environment to include the location of the soundemitter.

The robot obtains, by the plurality of microphones, respective audioinputs (440). Each microphone of the microphone array receives adifferent audio input by virtue of its unique position relative to theemitter. Each microphone obtains its respective audio input and convertsthe audio input into a separate audio signal. The audio signals are thensent to the audio engine. In other embodiments, the robot can receiveaudio inputs from one or more accessory input subsystems. For example,an accessory input subsystem can be an accessory microphone array orintegrated microphones of a mobile device. The accessory input subsystemcan be configured to obtain audio input, convert the audio input intoone or more audio signals, and transfer each audio signal to the robot.

The robot processes the respective audio inputs according to thecalculated spatial filter (450). The respective audio inputs are encodedby audio signals that are processed by the audio engine. The audioengine applies the combination of weights determined in stage 430, tothe audio input of each microphone of the microphone array toselectively amplify each of the audio signals. In addition, the audioengine also time-shifts the audio signals so that all signals are inphase. Time-shifting and selectively amplifying the weights enhances theaudio input received in the direction of the emitter.

The robot can use the processed audio for a number of applications.

For example, the audio signal can correspond to a user providing a voicecommand to the robot, and by processing the audio signal using theabove-mentioned spatial filtering techniques, the robot can increase theprobability that the command provided by the user will be recognizedcorrectly. As another example, the robot can be configured to detect andreport the occurrence of particular sounds, e.g., the sound of glassbreaking or a knock at a door, the sound of another robot, of a siren,or any sound that would be useful to localize. By using theabove-mentioned spatial filtering techniques, the robot can decreasefalse positive and false negative detections while increasing theprobability of true positive detections.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an example process for generating and storingone or more spatial filters and one or more acoustic transfer functions.As discussed, a robot can calculate a spatial filter in response to adetected sound in order to optimize the reception of that sound. Amobile robot can also automatically generate transfer functions withinits environment to further optimize signal processing of receivedsounds. The process will be described as being performed by a robotprogrammed appropriately in accordance with this specification. Whenappropriately programmed, the robot 100 can perform the example process.

The robot obtains a map of an environment of the robot (510). Forexample, the robot can generate the map by traversing an area accessibleto the robot while recording the robot's location. The robot can alsodetect the location of any inaccessible areas. The environment can beindoors or outdoors. The environment can be an enclosed indoor area,e.g., a house or an apartment, an office floor, or a warehouse interior.

The robot can use a vision subsystem to infer that certain areas areinaccessible. For example, the robot can recognize an object, a wall, ora staircase using the camera and infer that these areas areinaccessible. Upon determining that an area is inaccessible, the robotcan record the locations and boundaries of inaccessible areas. Usingthis information, the robot can use a movement subsystem toautomatically construct a map. For example, the robot can use anyappropriate mapping algorithm to sufficiently explore accessible areasin its environment in order to generate a sufficiently detailed map ofits environment. In some implementations, the robot can construct themap using LIDAR or other active emitter tracking technologies.

Alternatively, or in addition, the map can be generated in whole or inpart by other systems and uploaded to the robot, for example, by a useror as generated by another robot or by a camera, e.g., the video capablecamera in a smartphone.

The robot selects a test location on the map (520). The test locationcorresponds to a location at which the robot will emit and receive atest signal in order to generate a spatial filter and acoustic transferfunction. The robot can select the test location in a number of ways. Insome implementations, the robot determines a test location from an areaof the environment that has a low density of locations having associatedtransfer functions.

The robot moves to the test location (530). After doing so, the robotemits a test signal (540). Examples of possible test signals include, afrequency sweep, a series of tones, and a series of impulses.

The robot receives a reflection of the test signal (550). The testsignal propagates through the environment of the robot and can reflectoff objects in the environment. Specifically, the robot receives areflection of the test signal that has been distorted due to theacoustic properties of the environment. It should be noted that therobot can receive one or more reflections of the test signal in one ormore directions, depending on how the test signal reflects off theobjects in the environment.

The robot calculates one or more spatial filters and one or moreacoustic transfer functions (560). In response to receiving a reflectionof the test signal, the robot can calculate one or more spatial filtersin order to determine from which direction the reflection originated.Thus, the robot can calculate a respective spatial filter for each ofthe one or more reflections of the test signal.

For each computed spatial filter, the robot can calculate acorresponding acoustic transfer function that represents therelationship between the distorted and original versions of the testsignal. In other words, the robot can use the one or more calculatedacoustic transfer functions to represent the effect of the environmenton the test signal.

The robot stores the test location and the one or more acoustic transferfunctions in a database (570). In other words, for a particular locationand each of one or more directions, the robot can store a respectivetransfer function representing how an audio signal received from aparticular direction is transformed by the environment of the robot.

The robot can also record an indication that a location in theenvironment has already been tested. The robot can then select a newtest location and repeat the process to generate additional transferfunctions. In some implementations, the robot performs the processcontinually as it explores the environment. Because transfer functionsare typically not significantly different for small differences intesting locations, the robot need not even stop moving to perform thesubsequent tests. For inaccessible locations within the map, the robotcan also prompt a user to place it at certain locations within theenvironment. The robot can determine to do so only when nearby users areactually detected.

To further enhance this process, the robot can store the received testsignals and compute the transfer functions later. Alternatively or inaddition, the robot can upload the received test signals to a nearby orremote computing device, which can handle generating the transferfunctions.

The above process assumed the presence of only a single robot. However,multiple devices can also be used to enhance the quality of the transferfunctions. For example, one robot or another device can act as a soundemitter, while another robot can act as the sound receiver. An emittercan be any device configured to output a test signal, and transmit, tothe robot, information related to the test signal. The other device canalso be a mobile phone, a desktop computer, or a dedicated stationarysound emitter. In these situations, the robot can determine two testlocations: the first being an emitting location and the second being areceiving location. In these implementations, the robot can positionitself at the receiving location, while the emitter is positioned at theemitting location. Thus, for example, the other emitter can be anotherrobot, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, or another mobile device.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of an example process for using transferfunctions to enhance audio signals. The process will be described asbeing performed by a robot programmed appropriately in accordance withthis specification. When appropriately programmed, the robot 100 canperform the example process.

The robot computes a spatial filter for a received audio signal at aparticular location within an environment of the robot (580). Aspreviously described above with reference to FIG. 4, the robot cancompute a spatial filter for an audio signal with or without actuallyreceiving an audio input. For example, if the robot detects the presenceof a user in a particular direction, the robot can compute a spatialfilter in the direction of the user in anticipation that the user mayprovide a voice command.

The robot obtains a previously computed acoustic transfer function forthe particular location and a direction of the spatial filter (585). Forexample, the robot can use the particular location to determine anearest test location stored in the database of transfer functions. Therobot can then obtain the transfer function associated with the storedtest location. If none of the test locations in the database aresufficiently close to the current location of the robot, the robot candecline to use a previously generated transfer function.

The robot processes audio input according to the previously computedacoustic transfer function (590). In other words, the robot can use thepreviously computed acoustic transfer function to remove the effects ofdistortion of the environment on the received audio input. The robot canthus generate a recovered audio signal that is closer to the audiosignal generated by the sound emitter.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process for using a map to enhanceaudio processing. As discussed above, a robot can calculate a spatialfilter in response to a detected sound in order to optimize thereception of that sound. The process will be described as beingperformed by a robot programmed appropriately in accordance with thisspecification. When appropriately programmed, the robot 100 can performthe example process.

The robot determines its current location within a map of an environmentof the robot (610). As previously discussed, the map can be stored on amemory unit of the robot. The map can indicate the locations of one ormore previously-calculated transfer functions and one or morepreviously-calculated spatial filters.

The robot determines that its current location within the map isassociated with location-specific processing techniques (620). Ingeneral, the location-specific processing techniques embody reasoningabout how audio signals are predicted to travel in the robot'senvironment. The location-specific processing techniques associated withthe robot's current location can include using location-specific spatialfilters, object-specific transfer functions, or both.

As one example, if the robot is near a wall, it is likely the robot willpick up reflected sound waves. Therefore, if according to the map, therobot is within a threshold distance to a wall, the robot can use alocation-specific spatial filter that enhances the audio signals fromboth the reflected and non-reflected versions of the sound waves. Inother words, rather than disregarding the audio signals received in thedirection of the wall, these reflected audio signals are used to boostthe audio signal coming from the direction of the emitter. As anotherexample, if the robot is in or near a hallway, where sounds are likelyto travel only in two directions, the robot can use a location-specificspatial filter that enhances audio signals from one or the otherdirection and ignores all other signals.

As another example, the robot can use its current location to determinethat it is in a dynamic area of the map that requires specialprocessing. Dynamic areas are areas that are likely to change insignificant ways from time to time. For example, the location data candetermine that the robot is near a door. Doors are dynamic areas becausewhether or not a door is closed greatly affects how sound waves travelin the environment.

Therefore, if the location data indicates that the robot is near a door,the robot can detect whether the door is open or closed. The robot canthen use an object-specific transfer function for a closed door or anopen door.

These object-specific transfer functions may have been previouslygenerated during the testing process. For example, the robot cangenerate one object-specific transfer function that accounts for thedoor being open and a separate object-specific transfer function thataccounts for the door being closed.

As another example, the location data can indicate that the robot is inan area in which chairs are located. Chairs are frequently moved aroundand are thus not always in the same places. And even if the robot has atransfer function for a particular location, the audio signal can stillbe improved with an object-specific transfer function in the case that achair is recognized.

Therefore, if the location data indicates that the robot is in an areain which chairs are routinely located, the robot can first performobject detection to determine the presence of chairs in the environment.If a chair is detected in the direction corresponding to an activespatial filter, the robot can obtain an object-specific transferfunction that accounts for how the chair distorts the audio signal.

The robot obtains, by a plurality of microphones, respective audiosignals (640). As previously discussed, the robot can obtain audio inputfrom its environment using a plurality of microphones. In otherembodiments, the robot can use one or more accessory input subsystems toreceive audio input.

The robot processes the audio signals using one or more of thelocation-specific processing techniques (650). The robot can determinewhich of the location-specific techniques is most relevant to itslocation, and use the determined location-specific techniques to processthe audio signals. For example, the robot can determine which state(i.e., open or closed) that the door is most likely in. After thisdetermination, the robot can process received audio signals using theobject-specific transfer function that corresponds to the door's state.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example process for calculating a compositetransfer function at a chosen location based on one or morepre-calculated transfer functions. As previously discussed, the robotcan store a map that includes the locations where it calculated the oneor more previously-calculated transfer functions. The robot can alsoaccess a database that includes the previously-calculated transferfunctions. When appropriately programmed, the robot 100 can perform theexample process.

The robot chooses a location, on a map of an environment of the robot,to calculate a composite transfer function (710). In general, thelocation can be any location on the map. As an example, the chosenlocation can be one where there is no corresponding transfer functionlocation stored on the map. In other implementations, the location canbe chosen by a user.

The robot identifies one or more transfer functions associated with thechosen location (720). The robot can determine, from the map, thelocations associated with the one or more previously-calculated transferfunctions and determine which locations are closest to the chosenlocation.

In some implementations, the transfer functions can includeobject-specific transfer functions as described above. The one or moreobject-specific transfer functions can correspond to one or moretransfer functions calculated near an identified object. In addition,the one or more object-specific transfer functions can correspond to oneor more transfer functions calculated near an object similar to theidentified object. For example, if the chosen location is near a firstwindow, the robot can use a transfer function calculated near the firstwindow, or a transfer function calculated near a second window.

The robot composes the one or more identified transfer functions into acomposite transfer function (730). Using signal processing techniques,the robot can compose the transfer functions into a single, compositetransfer function that includes features of the one or more transferfunctions.

The robot stores the chosen location and the composite transfer functionin the database of previously-calculated transfer functions (740).

For example, the map can include locations associated with a transferfunction calculated at a first location and a transfer functioncalculated near a first wall. The robot can also include a database thatincludes these transfer functions. The robot can choose a secondlocation, nearby the first location and a second wall, at which tocalculate a composite transfer function. The robot can use the map toidentify the location of the transfer function calculated at the firstlocation. The robot can also use the map to identify the location of thetransfer function calculated near the first wall. The robot can retrievefrom the database the transfer functions that correspond to the twoidentified locations. The robot can compose the transfer functioncalculated at the first location and the transfer function calculatednear the first wall into a single, composite transfer function, whichcan then be stored in the database.

In other embodiments, the robot can calculate a degree of similaritybetween an area surrounding a first object (e.g., the first wall) and anarea surrounding a second object (e.g., the second wall). If the twoareas meet a certain threshold degree of similarity, then the robot canchoose to use the transfer function associated with the second objecttowards calculating a composite transfer function. If the two areas donot meet a certain threshold degree of similarity, then the robot canreject the second object and not use it towards calculated a compositetransfer function.

In the previous examples, the robot forms a composite transfer functionfor a chosen location using one transfer function calculated at alocation near the chosen location and one object-specific transferfunction calculated close to an object that is similar to one near thechosen location. The robot can also use multiple transfer functionscalculated at multiple locations near the chosen location, as well asmultiple object-specific transfer functions that correspond to an objectnear the chosen location. When the robot identifies multiple transferfunctions to be used towards calculating a composite transfer function,the robot can use a weighing scheme that determines which transferfunctions are most relevant given the chosen location.

For example, if the map indicates that there are transfer functionscalculated at two locations close to the chosen location, then theweighting scheme can assign the closer of the two locations a greaterweight. When calculating the composite transfer function, an audioengine of the robot can prioritize a transfer function with a greaterweight so that the composite function is more similar to that transferfunction. The robot can also use a weighing scheme when prioritizingmore than one object-specific transfer function.

It should be noted that, in some scenarios, the robot determines thatthere is not an object within a certain distance to the chosen location.In this case, the process can omit stages 730 and 740. The robot thencomposes the one or more identified transfer functions to form thecomposite transfer function.

A robot can use a database of transfer functions to enhance its abilityto receive audio within its environment. For example, after computing asufficiently large number of transfer functions between pairs of pointsin the environment of the robot, a preferred acoustic location withinthe environment of the robot can be computed. The preferred acousticlocation is a location within the environment of the robot that improvesthe aggregate quality of sound received by the robot. The preferredacoustic location can be computed by the robot itself, although becausesuch processing can be computationally intensive, a cloud-basedcomputing system providing online support services for the robot can beused alternatively or in addition to the robot.

For example, from a database of transfer functions, a number of soundorigins can be selected. The selected sound origins are locations fromwhich it is important for the robot to be able to clearly detect sound.Thus, the sound origins can be defined as peripheral locations of theenvironment of the robot or locations that sound is likely to bedetected from, e.g., entryways, windows, and pet doors, to name just afew examples.

Next, a number of candidate locations within the environment can beselected. Each candidate location is a candidate preferred acousticlocation for the robot. In some implementations, the system selectssound origins and candidate locations according to origin/destinationpairs associated with each of the transfer functions. However, if therobot has the capability of computing composite transfer functionsbetween any arbitrary pair of locations within its environment, therobot can select the sound origins and candidate locations in otherways. For example, the robot can define a grid of locations within theenvironment of the robot and consider each grid location as a candidatelocation.

Each candidate location can then be evaluated according to transferfunctions between the candidate location and each of the selected soundorigins. To do so, the transfer function between a particular soundorigin and the candidate location can be used to compute an originscore. The origin score represents a decrease in sound quality of asound wave propagating from the selected sound origin to the candidatelocation according to the associated transfer function. The decrease insound quality can represent a measure of volume change, a measure ofdistortion, both, or some other measure of sound quality.

An aggregate score for the candidate location can then be computed fromthe individual origin scores. As described above, the aggregate scorefor a candidate location represents the aggregate quality of sound ofsounds received by the robot while positioned at the candidate location.The aggregate quality of sound can be defined in a number of differentways. For example, the aggregate quality of sound can reflect that asmany selected sound origins as possible should have at least thresholdpredicted sound quality at the candidate location. In other words, theaggregate quality of sound can impose a penalty for any sound originsthat are at location from which sound is unlikely to be processedreliably. In some other implementations, the system can compute aweighted average of all the origin scores. For example, the weight foreach origin score can be based on a confidence score computed when thetransfer function was generated by the robot.

The preferred acoustic location can then be selected as the candidatelocation having the highest aggregate score. At that point, the robotcan be expected to improve its ability to process audio in itsenvironment, so the robot can navigate to the preferred acousticlocation and wait to receive sounds. Not only can the robot navigate tothe preferred acoustic location but it can also determine at least oneof a pose and orientation in order to improve its ability to processaudio of interest. Assuming a robot includes one or more independentlymovable components, a pose for the robot can include actuating at leastone of those components relative to the other components to establish arelative position and orientation of the components. For example, if therobot has a microphone on the right side of its head, it may rotate itshead to place the microphone in the direction of interest.

In some implementations, this navigation action occurs in response to aidle time event. In other words, when the robot runs out of things todo, the robot can navigate to the preferred acoustic location to improvethe likelihood of processing any unexpected sounds. The idle time eventcan be a lack of user interaction for at least a threshold period oftime, the failure to detect any nearby users, or an explicit command ortrigger from a user. For example, a user can select an option thatcauses the robot to navigate to the preferred acoustic location at thesame time each morning, e.g., the time at which the user normallydeparts for work.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in tangibly-embodied computer software or firmware, incomputer hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e.,one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on atangible non-transitory storage medium for execution by, or to controlthe operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer storage mediumcan be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storagesubstrate, a random or serial access memory device, or a combination ofone or more of them. Alternatively, or in addition, the programinstructions can be encoded on an artificially-generated propagatedsignal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, orelectromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information fortransmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a dataprocessing apparatus.

The term “data processing apparatus” refers to data processing hardwareand encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines forprocessing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, acomputer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can alsobe, or further include, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA(field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specificintegrated circuit). The apparatus can optionally include, in additionto hardware, code that creates an execution environment for computerprograms, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocolstack, a database management system, an operating system, or acombination of one or more of them.

A computer program which may also be referred to or described as aprogram, software, a software application, an app, a module, a softwaremodule, a script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A program may, but neednot, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in aportion of a file that holds other programs or data, e.g., one or morescripts stored in a markup language document, in a single file dedicatedto the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files, e.g.,files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code.A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or onmultiple computers that are located at one site or distributed acrossmultiple sites and interconnected by a data communication network.

For a system of one or more computers to be configured to performparticular operations or actions means that the system has installed onit software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them that inoperation cause the system to perform the operations or actions. For oneor more computer programs to be configured to perform particularoperations or actions means that the one or more programs includeinstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the operations or actions. For a robot to beconfigured to perform particular operations or actions means that thesystem has installed on it software, firmware, hardware, or acombination of them that in operation cause the robot to perform theoperations or actions.

As used in this specification, an “engine,” or “software engine,” refersto a software implemented input/output system that provides an outputthat is different from the input. An engine can be an encoded block offunctionality, such as a library, a platform, a software development kit(“SDK”), or an object. Each engine can be implemented on any appropriatetype of computing device, e.g., servers, mobile phones, tabletcomputers, notebook computers, music players, e-book readers, laptop ordesktop computers, PDAs, smart phones, or other stationary or portabledevices, that includes one or more processors and computer readablemedia. Additionally, two or more of the engines may be implemented onthe same computing device, or on different computing devices.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable computers executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA or an ASIC, or by acombination of special purpose logic circuitry and one or moreprogrammed computers.

Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program can be basedon general or special purpose microprocessors or both, or any other kindof central processing unit. Generally, a central processing unit willreceive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random accessmemory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a centralprocessing unit for performing or executing instructions and one or morememory devices for storing instructions and data. The central processingunit and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, specialpurpose logic circuitry. Generally, a computer will also include, or beoperatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both,one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic,magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need nothave such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in anotherdevice, e.g., a robot, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device, e.g., auniversal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to name just a few.

Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, mediaand memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks,e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and pointing device, e.g., a mouse, trackball, or a presencesensitive display or other surface by which the user can provide inputto the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Inaddition, a computer can interact with a user by sending documents toand receiving documents from a device that is used by the user; forexample, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's device inresponse to requests received from the web browser. Also, a computer caninteract with a user by sending text messages or other forms of messageto a personal device, e.g., a smartphone, running a messagingapplication, and receiving responsive messages from the user in return.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface, a web browser, or anapp through which a user can interact with an implementation of thesubject matter described in this specification, or any combination ofone or more such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. Thecomponents of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium ofdigital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (LAN) and a widearea network (WAN), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data, e.g., an HTML page, to a userdevice, e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the device, which acts as a client.Data generated at the user device, e.g., a result of the userinteraction, can be received at the server from the device.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather asdescriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodimentsof particular inventions. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially be claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in somecases, be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination maybe directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system modulesand components in the embodiments described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults.

What is claimed is:
 1. A robot comprising: a body and one or morephysically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; one or moreprocessors; and one or more storage devices storing instructions thatare operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause therobot to perform operations comprising: obtaining map data of anenvironment of the robot; selecting a test location from the map data;navigating to the selected test location; receiving a test signal of asound wave propagating through the environment of the robot; computingone or more acoustic transfer functions for the test signal, whereineach acoustic transfer function represents how the test signal wastransformed by the environment of the robot while the sound wavepropagated through the environment of the robot; and storing each of thetransfer functions in association with the test location.
 2. The robotof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, by therobot, an original audio signal at a particular location in theenvironment of the robot; obtaining one of the previously computedacoustic transfer functions associated with the particular location; andcomputing a recovered audio signal by applying the previously computedacoustic transfer function for the particular location to the receivedoriginal audio signal.
 3. The robot of claim 2, wherein obtaining one ofthe previously computed acoustic transfer functions associated with theparticular location comprises determining a previous test location thatis closest in the environment of the robot to the test location.
 4. Therobot of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: repeatedlyand automatically selecting new test locations in the environment of therobot; computing one or more additional acoustic transfer functions foreach new test location; and storing each additional acoustic transferfunction in association with each respective new test location.
 5. Therobot of claim 4, wherein selecting a new test location comprises:computing, for each of a plurality of areas in the environment of therobot, a respective measure of density of previously tested locations;and selecting a particular location in an area of the environment havinga density that satisfies a threshold.
 6. The robot of claim 1, whereinthe test signal is emitted by the robot.
 7. The robot of claim 1,wherein the test signal is emitted by a different second robot or astationary sound emitter.
 8. A robot comprising: a body and one or morephysically moveable components; a plurality of microphones; one or moreprocessors; and one or more storage devices storing instructions thatare operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause therobot to perform operations comprising: determining a current locationof the robot in an environment of the robot; determining that thecurrent location is associated with one or more location-specific audioprocessing techniques; obtaining, by the plurality of microphones,respective audio signals of sound waves propagating in the environmentof the robot; and processing the audio signals according to the one ormore location-specific audio processing techniques.
 9. The robot ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more location-specific audio processingtechniques comprise a location-specific acoustic filter.
 10. The robotof claim 9, wherein determining that the current location of the robotis associated with one or more location-specific audio processingtechniques comprises determining that the current location of the robotis within a threshold distance of a wall in the environment of therobot, and wherein the location-specific acoustic filter amplifies audiosignals of sound waves reflecting off the wall.
 11. The robot of claim9, wherein determining that the current location of the robot isassociated with one or more location-specific audio processingtechniques comprises determining that the current location of the robotis in a hallway of the environment of the robot, and wherein thelocation-specific acoustic filter amplifies audio signals of sound wavestraveling along the hallway.
 12. The robot of claim 8, where the one ormore location-specific audio processing techniques comprise alocation-specific acoustic transfer function.
 13. The robot of claim 12,wherein determining that the current location of the robot is associatedwith one or more location-specific audio processing techniques comprisesdetermining that the current location of the robot is in a dynamic areahaving obstacles that are likely to change orientation, and wherein thelocation-specific acoustic transfer function is an object-specifictransfer function that represents how sound waves are transformed by aparticular object.
 14. The robot of claim 13, wherein theobject-specific transfer function represents how sound waves aretransformed by a closed door or an open door.
 15. The robot of claim 13,wherein the object-specific transfer function represents how sound wavesare transformed by furniture in the environment of the robot.
 16. Arobot comprising: a body and one or more physically moveable components;a plurality of microphones; one or more processors; and one or morestorage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed bythe one or more processors, to cause the robot to perform operationscomprising: receiving, by the robot, one or more audio signals at aparticular location in an environment of the robot; selecting, based onthe particular location of the robot, a plurality of precomputedacoustic transfer functions from a database of acoustic transferfunctions that associates each acoustic transfer function with arespective location in the environment of the robot; computing a singlecomposite acoustic transfer function from the plurality of selectedacoustic transfer functions; and processing the received one or moreaudio signals using the composite acoustic transfer function.
 17. Therobot of claim 16, wherein selecting the plurality of precomputedacoustic transfer functions comprises determining which acoustictransfer functions are associated with locations in the environment thatare closest to the location of the robot.
 18. The robot of claim 16,wherein computing a single composite acoustic transfer function from theplurality of selected acoustic transfer functions comprises assigning arespective weight to each acoustic transfer function based on arespective distance between a location associated with the acoustictransfer function and the particular location of the robot.
 19. Therobot of claim 16, wherein the acoustic transfer functions in thedatabase of acoustic transfer functions are precomputed by the robotmoving to multiple locations within the environment of the robot. 20.The robot of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:generating the database of acoustic transfer functions, includingrepeatedly performing operations comprising: selecting a test locationfrom map data of the environment of the robot, navigating to theselected test location, receiving a test signal of a sound wavepropagating through the environment of the robot, computing one or moreacoustic transfer functions for the test signal, wherein each acoustictransfer function represents how the test signal was transformed by theenvironment of the robot while the sound wave propagated through theenvironment of the robot, and storing each of the transfer functions inassociation with the test location in the database.
 21. The robot ofclaim 16, wherein the test signal is emitted by the robot.
 22. The robotof claim 16, wherein the test signal is emitted by a different secondrobot or a stationary sound emitter.
 23. A system comprising: one ormore computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions thatare operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause theone or more computers to perform operations comprising: receiving datarepresenting a plurality of transfer functions that each represents howa sound wave was transformed by the environment of a robot while thesound wave propagated from a respective sound origin in the environmentof the robot to a respective sound destination in the environment of therobot; selecting a plurality of sound origins associated with one of theplurality of transfer functions; computing a plurality of candidatelocations in the environment of the robot; evaluating each candidatelocation of the plurality of candidate locations, including: computing arespective origin score for each selected sound origin of the pluralityof selected sound origins, each respective score representing a decreasein sound quality of a sound wave propagating from the selected soundorigin to the candidate location according to a particular transferfunction having the candidate location as a sound destination; andcomputing an aggregate score for the candidate location based on theorigin scores computed between the selected sound origins and thecandidate location; determining a candidate location of the plurality ofcandidate locations having a best aggregate score; and providing, to therobot, data that causes the robot to navigate within the environment ofthe robot to the candidate location having the best aggregate score. 24.The system of claim 23, wherein each origin score represents a measureof volume change or a measure of distortion according to a particulartransfer function.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein providing datathat causes the robot to navigate within the environment of the robot tothe candidate location having the best aggregate score comprisesproviding data identifying the candidate location.
 26. The system ofclaim 23, wherein providing the data causes the robot to navigate to thecandidate location upon receiving a downtime trigger.
 27. The system ofclaim 23, wherein the plurality of transfer functions were computedautomatically by the robot navigating within the environment of therobot.
 28. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more computers andone or more storage devices are installed on the robot, and wherein therobot comprises a body and one or more physically moveable components.29. The system of claim 23, wherein selecting a plurality of soundorigins associated with one of the plurality of transfer functionscomprises selecting peripheral locations within the environment of therobot.
 30. The system of claim 23, wherein selecting a plurality ofsound origins associated with one of the plurality of transfer functionscomprises selecting locations associated with entryways, doors, orwindows.
 31. The system of claim 23, the operations further comprising:determining at least one of a pose and orientation in order to improveits ability to process audio of interest.